Top Employers Plan to Increase Master’s-Level Hiring by 22 Percent

<strong>State College, Pa. &mdash; March 19</strong><br />CollegeGrad.com, an entry-level job site, announced the Top 100 Master&#39;s Employers for 2008. Good news for students finishing their master&#39;s programs: The results of the 2008 Top Entry-Level Employers survey reveal that Top Master&#39;s Employers plan to increase their master&#39;s hiring by 22 percent in 2008.<br /><br />The Top Master&#39;s Employers list details the 2008 master&#39;s hiring plans for 100 employers nationwide and is available online. Each employer page also details projections for entry- and intern-level hiring for the 2008 recruiting year.<br /><br />Among this year&#39;s Top 100 Master&#39;s Employers listed by CollegeGrad.com, 59 percent anticipate hiring more graduates in 2008 than 2007. Twenty-eight percent will hire the same number and 13 percent will be hiring fewer master&#39;s grads than in 2007.<br /><br />At the top of the list, Americorps plans to hire 1,000 master&#39;s candidates in 2008. RSM McGladrey/McGladrey & Pullen finished at No. 2, with 875 projected hires. Microsoft and Education Management Corp. project hiring 715 and 700 master&#39;s candidates respectively, and the Peace Corps rounds out the Top 5 Master&#39;s Employers with 420 projected hires. In all, the list accounts for more than 8,000 master&#39;s hires in 2008.<br /><br />This year&#39;s most sought after master&#39;s degrees include accounting, all engineering and computer science degrees. Together, the top three majors account for 63 percent of all master&#39;s hiring for 2008. Education and business administration are also in the top five master&#39;s degrees being hired.<br /><br />According to CollegeGrad.com, candidates with master&#39;s degrees provide higher qualifications for employment that can be equivalent to as much as two or three years of experience in the field. Added to that, employers also find that master&#39;s candidates have a greater level of technical and field expertise that can bolster a company&#39;s growth and competitive stance in the industry.<br /><br />Even with the current decline in economic confidence, a projected 22 percent increase in master&#39;s hiring presents master&#39;s-level job seekers with a very positive job outlook in 2008.<br />